Elastomeric railway car side bearing

ABSTRACT

A side bearing or snubber having an upright body member constructed of a hard elastomeric material such as polyurethane and having an integral flanged base for attachment to the truck bolster of a railroad car providing for the resilient support of the car frame when installed for the absorption of dynamic forces of car motion by the compressive travel thereof, the snubber having a central bore extending through said body and base containing a shortened steel column therein for limiting said compressive travel, the bore being relieved adjacent to said base whereby under substantially full compression with the tilting of the car against the snubber, the snubber is compressed into a shallow oval-like bulbous shape, whereby the upper portion of the body grips the upper end of the column and urges it in frictional restraint forcing it to return to static position and in support of the car frame from its dynamic travel from car swaying and tilting.

[ 1 Mar. 112, 1974 1 ELASTOMERIC RAILWAY CAR SIDE BEARING [76] Inventor:John H. Van Moss, Jr., 3 Mavor Ln., Highland Park, 111. 60035 [22]Filed: Feb. 1, 1973 [21 Appl. N0.: 328,858

Related US. Application Data [63] Continuation-impart of Ser. No.176,119, Aug. 30,

1971, abandoned.

[52] US. Cl 105/199 CB, 267/3, 267/63 R, 308/138 [51] Int. Cl. B61f5/14, F16c 17/04, F160 17/08 [58] Field of Search 105/199 C, 199 CB;267/3, 267/63 R; 308/138 FORElGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 1,354,286l/l964 France 267/63 R Primary Examiner-Robert G. Sheridan AssistantExaminer-Howard Beltran Attorney, Agent, or FirmW. A. Snow; C. W.

Rummler [57] ABSTRACT A side bearing or snubber having an upright bodymember constructed of a hard elastomeric material such as polyurethaneand having an integral flanged base for attachment to the truck bolsterof a railroad car providing for the resilient support of the car framewhen installed for the absorption of dynamic forces of car motion by thecompressive travel thereof, the snubber having a central bore extendingthrough said body and base containing a shortened steel column thereinfor limiting said compressive travel, the bore being relieved adjacentto said base whereby under substantially full compression with thetilting of the -car against the snubber, the snubber is compressed intoa shallow oval-like bulbous shape, whereby the upper portion of the bodygrips the upper end of the column and urges it in frictional restraintforcing it to return to static position and in support of the car framefrom its dynamic travel from car swaying and tilting.

8 Claims, 9 Drawing Figures 1 ELASTOMERIC RAILWAY CAR SIDE BEARING Thisapplication is a cont-inuation-in-part of my copending application Ser.No. 176,119 filed Aug. 30, I971, now abandoned.

BACKGROUND OF' THE INVENTION This invention relates to the art ofdynamic stabilization of all types of freight cars in transit onstandard roadbeds by the absorption of energy of shock and the dampeningand limitation of dynamic motion of the body of the car in the vertical,lateral and horizontal or swaying directions.

Side snubbers embodying rollers movably mounted in a frame supported ona truck bolster which are contacted by the car body are old. Also, somepreloaded side snubbers are known to utilize spring-loaded cam systems.Insofar as solving the problem of dynamic rocking motion resulting .inderailments of railroad cars, snubber members have been used inconjunction with the springs between the truck bolster and the sideframe of the car. None of the foregoing have been found to provide aninexpensive structure which will reduce the dynamic condition whichcauses the car bodies to sway from side to side under self-excitedvibration and create a problem which is known in the railroad industryas resonant rock and roll. More specifically, this condition has beenencountered with high covered hopper cars and some high-side gondolascapable of carrying between a hundred and a hundred and twenty-five tonsof material. These cars are normally approximately the same length asthe standard rail and with the staggered joints between the rails and aforced resonant vibration condition, can be set up at some of the lowerspeeds of travel.

As now understood, this swinging of the car body from one side to theother contacts the side snubber which is located between the car bodyand the truck bolster. The forces are transmitted through the bolsterand into the spring group and the side frame of the truck. From there,the force goes to the car journals and onto the axles on the outboardside of the wheels of the truckQThis causes the wheels and the rail onthat particular side to-form a fulcrum point, lifting the wheel from thetrack on the opposite side. Most of the time the wheels on the far sidereturn and make contact with the rail. In newer cars with larger loadsand greater excitation forces, the wheels, on returning to the level,miss the rail, causing derailments. A second condition which is causingderailments occurs when the dynamic rocking of the car becomes soviolent that the forces transmitted down through the truck bolsters andframe into the wheels are great enough to actually turn the rail over onthe tie.

At the present time, there are no firm specifications by the Associationof American Railroads regarding resilient-type side snubbers. However,it has been decided informally that such side snubbers should have aninitial preload of 5,000 pounds on each side of the car, at a resilientdeflection of approximately one-quarter inch. As the car body rocks indynamic motion, the resistance of the side snubber should increase50,000 pounds with an additional deflection of approximately 1 inch. Theside snubber disclosed herein substantially meets the foregoing informalspecifications and contributes to a reduction of the aforesaidconditions which have resulted in derailments.

There is thus a need in the railroad industry for a low cost,preloadable side snubber which retains its original resiliencethroughout its life and which stabilizes the dynamic motion ofa freightcar in transit at all reasonable operating speeds and rated carloadings. Reduction of rocking of the car, lift of the wheels off therail and lateral hunting of the trucks by means of positive action shockcontrol of the freight car motion through the use of such side snubberswill reduce excessive wear of rail, wheel and equipment during life, andlead to trouble-free maintenance during operation and improve customerservice relations from reduced damage to lading for sales.

Side snubbers containing short rods therein, which rods were designed toreturn to their upper static position, have a tendency to fail underextreme load conditions,'because the rods having a less hardness thanthe truck bolster will tend to form a permanent enlargement at thebottom thereof, due to constant impact, so that the snubber becomesineffective. Under such conditions, the rods and ends remain in contactwith the bolster rather than contacting the car frame.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The inventive concept involved in this improvedside snubber for railroad cars comprises a hard elastomeric side bearinghaving an upright body member and an axial bore with a bore reliefadjacent the base thereof, the bore containing a shortened steel columnfor limiting the compressive travel of the snubber under dynamic carloading. The upper portion of the body, in combination with the borerelief, grips said column adjacent its upper end under dynamic loadingand urges it in' frictional restraint to return to its static positionagainst the car frame with its top end flush with the body top upon therelief of load while the bore relief also provides clearance ifapermanent enlargement at the end of the steel column coming fromcontinued impact on the truck bolster occurs, thereby maintainingresilience of the side bearing during operating life.

It is thus another object of this invention to provide forenergy-absorbing elastic truck side snubbers satisfying the above need.

Another object of this invention is to provide elastic truck sidesnubbers which provide toughness and resistance to abrasion and havingthe ability to absorb energy and to dampen the vertical, lateral,longitudinal and swaying shock forces having their origin in high speedand heavy load travel, thereby preventing wear and tear on the rollingstock-and the rails and roadbed of the railroad.

Another object of this invention is to provide means for retaining ashort steel column in the upper end of the side snubber when the bearingis in static position.

Still another object of this invention is to provide for the continuedsafety of the shock control operation of the freight car by limitingmaximum car motion with positive action steel stops which are maintainedin physical contact with the plate on the ear frame by the urging actionof a side snubber. Such stops will continue to function as stops withoutreducing the resilience of the side snubber regardless of thepossibility of permanent deformation at the lower end of the stop fromsuccessive impacts imposed thereon as the limit of maximum travel isreached.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a fragmented elevation viewof the railroad car frame and truck bolster with the improved sidesnubber mounted therebetween;

FIG. 2 is a perspective elevation view of the improved side snubber ofupright body member and shallow frusto-conical-like shaped top;

FIG. 3 is a vertical sectional view through the center line of the bodyand the mounting holes of the flanged base of the side snubber showing abore relief providing frictional restraint of the steel column therein;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the center steel column with deformedend;

FIG. 5 is a vertical sectional view of a modification showing anothertype of stepped bore relief;

FIG. 6 is a vertical sectional view of a modification showing a flangedrestraint of the steel column in the body of the snubber;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of another body form of side snubber;

FIG. 8 is a vertical cross-sectional view ofa modified form of snubberbody and FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view of another modified form ofstructure similar to FIG. 6.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Referring to FIG. 1, the sidebearing or snubber 10 that is the subject invention is located on atruck bolster l2 and is installed with conventional bolts 16 runningthrough flanged base 18 in the same position and manner as the currentsolid side snubbers. The top end 20 of side snubber 10, shown in FIG. 2,bears on wear plate 22 which is integrally formed on the bottom ofthecar frame 14, shown in FIG. I. The integral flanged base 18 of thesnubber 10 in FIG. 2 has mounting holes 24 in opposite ends of the base26 for receiving bolts 16 in the mounting of the side snubber base 18 tobolster 12.

A body member 30 of the side snubber 10 is an integral part of the base18, as shown in FIG. 2. As shown in FIG. 3, the body member 30 iscentrally located on base 18 extending up therefrom as side surface 19having the shape of an upright frustrum of a circular cone andterminating in top 20 in the form of a shallow frusto-conical-like shape34 from a flat center section 36 to the upper surface 19 of the bodymember 30, giving maximum stability and preventing rollover of the sidesnubber under load, and maintaining bearing contact of the upper end 43of steel center column 42 against plate 22 on car frame 14 when thesnubber 10 is compressed into a shallow oval like bulbous shape, asshown in dotted line in FIG. 3, whereby the upper portion 31 of bodymember 30 grips the upper surface 43 of column 42 as indicated by theforce vectors indicated by the arrows in FIG/3 shown in dash lines. Thisshaping of the body member 30 of the side snubber l0 permits a limitedamount of elastomeric material to compress under maximum deflectionforces. The top 20 may be impregnated with particles of either teflon ormolydisulfide to make the surface slippery to facilitate relativemovement between the top 20 and plate 22 depending from car frame 14.

the side snubber is provided with bore 38 extending axially from the top20 through the base 18, as shown in FIG. 3. The bore 38 is preferably 1%inches in diameter before shrinking during cooling after being removedfrom the mold. The overall free height H of the snubber is preferably 5%inches. The installed height H', as compressed by the static weight ofthe railroad car, is approximately 5 /2 inches. The minimum workingheight H" of the snubber under maximum loading is approximately 4 to 4%inches. Bore 38 has a straight taper terminating in downwardly andarcuately formed relief 40, the relief extending up through base 18 intobody member 30 a distance terminating preferably approximately 2 inchesfrom the top 20 of a steel center of the body member 30. The arcuateportion forming the relief 41 is preferably on a 4- inch radius.Counterbore 46 of the modified side snubber l0 shown in FIG. 5 ispreferably of 1% inches diameter and of the same depth into the bodymember 30' from the base 18 and serves equally satisfactorily to relievethe bore 38.

In a further modification, side snubber l0 as shown in FIG. 6, is of thesame outline as that shown in FIG. 3 except the steel column 42 has anintegrally formed flanged upper end 47 for restraining the column 42" inbody 30" and urging it toward the top 20 of side snubber M).

Steel center column 42, as shown in FIG. 4, which preferably has adiameter of approximately 1% inches plus, is slightly greater than thediameter of the bore 38, and has a length of approximately 4% inches,which is less than the preloaded height H of the snubber 10. The column42 is frictionally restrained in bore 38 with upper end 43 flush withthe top surface of body member 30 for contacting plate 22 on car frame14, as shown in FIG. 1. The lower end 45 of the column 42 is preferablyspaced about 1% inches from the truck bolster in static position.Thecolumn 42 thereby limits maximum compression travel of the sidesnubber under maximum load with lower end 45 coming into contact withbolster 12. The body 10 will then be compressed into the bulbous shapeshown in dashed outline in FIG. 3, thus causing the upper end 43 of body10 to grip and constantly keep in contact against the lower surface ofplate 22 in the process. Thus the column 42 is always assured of beingreturned to its starting static position. The effect of the introductionof the steel column 42 in the center of the body member 30 also is toincrease the non-linear load response characteristics of the sidesnubber 10, 10' or 10" under high loadings.

The enlargement 44 on lower end 45 of steel center column 42 shown inFIG. 4 comes as the possible result of the peening over of the end ofcolumn 42 under repetitive impact up against the limit of travel of thesnubber from dynamic loading during use, because the column 42 isconstructed to be not as hard as the bolster 12 or plate 22. The relief41 will still allow the column 42 to return to static position since therelief forms a clearance for the enlargement 44. Thus, as installed withthe preferable dimensions and under rated static preload, the workingtravel between lower end 45 of column 42 and bolster 12 beforebottoming-out under maximum dynamic loading will normally approximate to1 inch unde loading conditions of 50,000 pounds attainable when therailroad car is moving on a curved banked track.

In the modification of FIG. 6, the flanged member 47 of the column 42"is seated in a recess 48 formed in the upper surface 20" to insurereturn of the column 42" to its static position as aforesaid.

The elastomeric material of the side snubber of this invention is mostpreferably a polyurethane having a hardness of at least 50 to 90 Shore DScale.

FIGS. 7 and 8 disclose another form of side snubber 50 with anintegrally formed, outwardly extending flanged base 52 adjacent thelower end of the body 54. The flanged base is provided with a pair ofopposed apertures 56 each containing a bushing 58.

The body 54 is substantially cylindrical in shape and substantially from4 V2 to 5 /2 inches in diameter with the side wall provided with a taperof about 5 to allow the same to be molded. The molding material ispolyurethane having a hardness of 50 to 90 Shore D Scale, similar to theother embodiments disclosed herein. The top wall 60 is a flat surface.

The axial bore 38 and the relief 40 and 41 shown therein are the same asin the other embodiments described hereinabove, as is the column 42.

The side bearing 50 of FIG. 9 is identical to that shown in FIG. 8except the top 60 is formed with a recess 62 to seat the head 64 of thecolumn, similar to the device shown in FIG. 6.

Major railroads have tested the device of this invention at high speedson 89 inch flat cars with containers, 70-ton bulkhead flat cars,standard 50 inch box cars, covered hoppers, Vert-A-Pacs, Stac-Pacs,steel coil cars, auto parts cars and 60 inch appliance cars.

The consensus of these tests is that the device of this invention willraise the threshold of high-speed lateral truck hunting l0 m.p.h., andreduce it substantially beyond that.

For instance, lateral twist on 89 inch flat cars with containers was cutby percent to 60 percent, depending on speed. On 70-ton bulkhead flatcars and standard 50 inch box cars, the threshold of sustained lateraltruck hunting was raised from 45 m.p.h. to 70 m.p.h.

All this-means that the device of this invention will greatly decreasecenter plate damage, wheel flange wear and lading damage caused byhigh-speed vibra tlon.

The device of this invention has also performed an excellent job onlow-speed wheel lift. Tests have shown that the load transferred frombolster to bolster through the device of this invention is about 55,000lbs., compared to 150,000+ with solid side bearings.

As a result, it eliminates cracked bolsters, center plate separation andbroken springs.

ln a recent high-speed Vert-A-Pac test, the device of this inventionproduced the lowest vertical force among a number of devices. Yet italso reduced vertical force at low speeds.

A leading railroad is now installing these side bearings on its fleet ofVert-A-Pac cars.

lt was also found that the device substantially reduces the noise levelsin cabooses and improves the ride.

Thus the device of this invention will substantially increase mileagebetween car shoppings, and it will also keep standard cars from wearingout.

ALthough several specific embodiments of this invention have been hereinshown and described, it will be understood that details of constructionshown may be altered or omitted without departing from the spirit of theinvention as defined by the appended claims.

l claim:

1. A device of the class described comprised of a hard elastomericmaterial having a flanged base, an upright cylindrical-shaped bodyintegrally formed on said base having a flat top, an axial boreextending from said top to and through said base, a bore relief meanscoaxial with said bore extending from said base into said body, a steelcolumn held in said bore and having a length less than the preloadedheight of said snubber, whereby the column is restrained by the body ofsaid snubber and urged to its static position.

2. The device of claim 1 wherein the top surface of the steel column isprovided with a flange and the upper end of said body contains a recessfor seating said flange.

3. A side snubber for a railroad car comprised of hard elastomericmaterial having a flanged base, a tapered upright body member integrallymounted on the base, a top of said body having a flat center section, anaxial bore extending from said top through to said base of said body, abore relief means coaxial with said bore extending from said base intosaid body, a steel column held in said bore having a diameter slightlyless than that of said bore and a length somewhat less than thepreloaded height of the snubber whereby the steel column is restrainedby the body of the snubber and urged to its static position.

4. A side snubber as set forth in claim 3 wherein said bore relief meanscomprises clearance providing for the operational enlargement of the endof the steel column during the life of the snubber to keep theresilience of the snubber maintained.

5. A side snubber as set forth in claim 4 wherein the elastomer is apolyurethane material.

6. A side snubber as set forth in claim 3 wherein the bore relief meansis formed by an arcuate taper extending from the lower surface of thebody upwardly to a straight conical taper terminating in said axial borewhereby when said snubber is compressed under full load condition, thebody member forms a shallow ovallike bulbous shape and the upper portionof the body grips the upper end of the column and urges it toward thetop of the snubber when the load is released.

7. A side snubber as set forth in claim 6 wherein the hardness of saidelastomeric material is at least 50 to 90 Shore D Scale.

8. The device of claim 3 wherein the top surface of the steel column isprovided with a flange and the upper end of said body contains a recessfor seating

1. A device of the class described comprised of a hard elastomericmaterial having a flanged base, an upright cylindrical-shaped bodyintegrally formed on said base having a flat top, an axial boreextending from said top to and through said base, a bore relief meanscoaxial with said bore extending from said base into said body, a steelcolumn held in said bore and having a length less than the preloadedheight of said snubber, whereby the column is restrained by the body ofsaid snubber and urged to its static position.
 2. The device of claim 1wherein the top surface of the steel column is provided with a flangeand the upper end of said body contains a recess for seating saidflange.
 3. A side snubber for a railroad car comprised of hardelastomeric material having a flanged base, a tapered upright bodymember integrally mounted on the base, a top of said body having a flatcenter section, an axial bore extending from said top through to saidbase of said body, a bore relief means coaxial with said bore extendingfrom said base into said body, a steel column held in said bore having adiameter slightly less than that of said bore and a length somewhat lessthan the preloaded height of the snubber whereby the steel column isrestrained by the body of the snubber and urged to its static position.4. A side snubber as set forth in claim 3 wherein said bore relief meanscomprises clearance providing for the operational enlargement of the endof the steel column during the life of the snubber to keep theresilience of the snubber maintained.
 5. A side snubber as set forth inclaim 4 wherein the elastomer is a polyurethane material.
 6. A sidesnubber as set forth in claim 3 wherein the bore relief means is formedby an arcuate taper extending from the lower surface of the bodyupwardly to a straight conical taper terminating in said axial borewhereby when said snubber is compressed under full load condition, thebody member forms a shallow oval-like bulbous shape and the upperportion of the body grips the upper end of the column and urges ittoward the top of the snubber when the load is released.
 7. A sidesnubber as set forth in claim 6 wherein the hardness of said elastomericmaterial is at least 50 to 90 Shore D Scale.
 8. The device of claim 3wherein the top surface of the steel column is provided with a flangeand the upper end of said body contains a recess for seating saidflange.